A Legend's Demise
by TinyPalm
Summary: A sequel to Railgun Season 2. STUDY may have been defeated, but there's a new evil lurking in the shadows that might require the combined efforts of the Level 5's. A Railgun fanfic.
1. Prologue

**Summary: A sequel to Railgun Season 2. STUDY may have been defeated, but there's a new evil lurking in the shadows. A Railgun fanfic.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Index or Railgun.**

**Rating: T**

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><p>Prologue – The final trial<p>

Her back was turned, eyes closed as she silently waited. Electricity crackled through her, manifesting as little sparks as she sensed her surroundings.

_There's one on the top left._ She mentally counted. _And three more under the floor._

She had done this so many times already that it almost felt like routine. There was just one slight difference: everything had to be performed in total darkness.

This, she had been told, would be the final phase of her training.

The scientists, or her 'teachers' as she liked to call them, were next door at the control panel and would be closely monitoring her progress. She wouldn't let them down.

'Are you ready?' The calm, authoritative tone of one of her teachers asked over the speaker that connected the two rooms.

'Yes.'

Her teachers nodded to each other in consent. 'Let's begin.'

The single click of a lever pulled and locked in place signaled the start of the trial. Almost at once, the experimental room shook and whirred to life.

Trap doors on the ceiling and on the floor slid open as automatic machine guns emerged through them. They appeared in positions exactly as she had predicted. She stood, unwavered, as she pointed her arm at the one on the ceiling with a calculated precision that rivaled a computer. A single jolt of electricity was enough to send the gun to scrap pieces that tumbled onto the floor; that was the easy part. Now all she had to deal with were the three that were already firing at her.

The machine guns used plastic bullets, which made them impossible to manipulate. Her only option was to destroy the machines themselves.

She sent the electricity in her back spiraling in a circle, creating a magnetic field behind her that absorbed her to the metal wall. She had learned that this was not only the most efficient way of defense and evasion, but the most effective offense as well. She channeled all the electricity in her hand and balled into a fist, punching the wall behind her. The sharp electricity cut through the wall with ease, and the iron within would provide a valuable form of resource.

Meanwhile, the machine guns, equipped with thermal sensors, had followed her thermal signal and pinpointed her new location, and started firing simultaneously.

With one hand still pressed to the wall, she waved her other hand around once, commanding her newly found resource to build an iron wall in front of her. Bullets hit and ricocheted off the defensive structure, while giving her enough time to build up another offensive strike.

_35 degrees to the left_. She sensed and recounted before pointing in the precise direction. A precisely timed bolt of electricity struck down the second gun, exploding it into scrap metal.

_57 degrees and 86 degrees to the right. _She sensed again. She shot out her iron shield in an arch, spinning and slicing the remaining guns into two halves, all while detaching herself from the wall and landing softly onto the smooth floor below without breaking a single drop of sweat. The last of her electricity crackled and vanished without a trace.

In the other room, the head teacher nodded slightly in approval. 'Phase one complete,' he announced, staring at the fully-filled progress bar on the central computer. 'Begin phase two.'

Almost as if she could sense what was happening next door, she nodded once in return. The guns, or what remained of them, retracted back under their trapdoors. Then the entire room followed suit.

Everything in the room was made to be retractable – that included the metal walls and the floor. Phase two began with an entire change of the arena; the walls were replaced by surfaces made of synthetic polymer, and the floor collapsed 100 feet down into the depths of the building below. All the electromagnetic tricks that had helped her before would prove no use in phase two.

'_Teleport'_, she chanted silently. Her body disappeared in a flash of afterimage and reappeared in the same precise location repeatedly to keep herself afloat over a height of 100 feet.

_Three on the ceiling._ She counted, balancing her abilities of teleportation and magnetic sensing. _And two more in the walls_.

With another whir, the room came alive. New trapdoors gave way as laser guns emerged and locked into place. These lasers were designed to be lethally sharp, and could slice open a living body with ease.

Just as the machine guns shot plastic bullets that evaded detection, so did the laser guns shoot light that was undetectable. All she could do was to destroy the guns before they destroyed her.

Every millisecond counted. The buzz of the laser had barely sounded as it shot at her at the speed of light, then she teleported out of her location.

Everything was tricky. The light had sensors that followed her movement closely, and she had to take care not to teleport into any of the five lasers, or she would be shredded to bits. The strong laser light in total darkness also suggested that she not open her eyes at any time, or her eyes could easily be burned. Her memory and sensing skills were quite literally her survival skills.

She reached under her shirt and pulled out an assortment of carefully concealed metal pins. With a spin, she teleported onto the far end of the plastic wall and jabbed a pin into it, locking it in place.

But the lasers were faster than she expected. Just before she could teleport into safety, one of the lasers on the ceiling had traced its path and cut into her right shoulder. The pins she was holding dropped as the sharp pain tore through her shoulder.

She didn't wince or grunt; she was trained not to. But she couldn't possibly fight off the lasers without the pins. With the speed of her brain matching the speed of her body, she decided to dive.

She couldn't afford to break the fall with teleportation, so she used momentum to do the job. She kicked off the wall to bounce onto the adjacent wall, and continued spiraling downward. She held her right shoulder firmly to strain against the rushing wind, and held her right hand out in both the form and function of a magnet. Just before she touched the ground, she swooped up all the pins. In a single moment of intense concentration, she held five pins in between her fingers, charged them with electricity, and threw them upward, before teleporting herself safely onto the floor. As if waiting in turn, the lasers broke one by one as the scraps fell around her.

She held her injured shoulder and huffed.

Phase two was complete.

'Well done,' the authoritative tone came once again over the speaker without any hint of emotion. 'You are ready.'

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><p><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Mikoto awoke with a start. Her ragged breathing and quickened heartbeat marked the end of the nightmare. It took her a minute to realize she was safe within the confines of her own dorm room.

For a moment, she sat there, collecting her thoughts and trying to calm herself. She had been getting that dream for three days in a row now. The mysterious girl that she could never get a good look at, the experiments and trials that she underwent.

She rubbed her hands against her face. _Must be the stress getting to me._ She decided. Ever since she entered Tokiwadai, she had been involved in strange and evil happenings in Academy City. Being a level 5 was both a blessing and a curse. As strong as she might be, they were bound to get to her somehow.

Kuroko was still sleeping soundly on the bed beside her. She was hugging a giant pillow that Mikoto suspected was a make-shift figure of herself. That suspicion was not unfounded, as Kuroko had a habit of talking in her sleep.

'Not there, Onee-sama. Oh, onee-sama,' Kuroko said, and drooled in a way that made Mikoto shudder. _Everywhere is a nightmare._

She took a look at her watch. _5.30._ The sky to the east hadn't threatened morning twilight yet, but there was no way she could get back to sleep.

With a sigh, she got up and got ready for school.

/ / / / / / / / / /

Spring was always the best time of year. The sakura trees were in full bloom, the soft petals sailing where the wind took them, and the air smelled of the fresh scent of flowers.

'Hmhmhm…' The perfect weather was matched only by a joyful Uiharu. She was on her earphones, humming the tune and skipping along the beat.

'U~i~ha~ru!' A voice came from behind her, lifting the hem of her skirt along the way. 'Ooh, pink stripes today? Nice match!'

Uiharu stopped in her tracks, as what had just happened slowly occurred to her. Then she shrieked, 'Eeeeeeek!'

'S-S-S-Saten-san! What are you doing?!' Uiharu frantically protested, blood flushing her face as she held down her skirt.

Ruiko raised her hands in mock surrender and wore a big smile. 'What? That was a compliment! You really know how to match your clothes, Uiharu!'

'That's not what I mean!' Uiharu said, puffing up her blood-filled cheeks. 'You're so cruel, Saten-san!'

'Haha. Sorry about that,' Ruiko said as she joined Uiharu on her way to Sakugawa Middle School. 'By the way, good luck today.'

'Hmm? About what?'

'What else could it be?' Ruiko said, holding up her pointer finger for emphasis. 'The System Scan, of course.'

It occurred to Uiharu immediately. Every half year, middle schools in Academy City had to administer an Exam and a System Scan. The Exam was all about theory, and individual schools were free to set their own dates and administer their own question papers; the System Scan, on the other hand, tested students' esper abilities, and was administered city-wide. That meant every school was to participate on the same day, administered by pre-appointed examiners. And today was that day.

Uiharu nodded. 'Ah. Hopefully I can make it past Level 1. I have been spending the last couple of days practicing. It's not much, but I think I'm improving.'

Ruiko stretched. 'Well, luckily I don't have to worry about that. No matter how hard I try, I'll end up being Level 0 anyway. No abilities.'

'Don't say that, Saten-san! Your abilities are amazing. I can't count how many times me, or Shirai-san, or Misaka-san have had to depend on you. You've helped us a lot.'

Ruiko looked at Uiharu and smiled. 'Thanks.'

Both Ruiko and Uiharu were early risers, both creatures of their habits. As a result there were not many people around for their first half of the trip. But now that the time was approaching school starting time, the roads were starting to be packed.

'Although…' Uiharu said as she held a finger to her lips. 'I wonder how Shirai-san and Misaka-san are doing.'

'We're talking about Tokiwadai's Level 4 and 5 here. I'm sure they're going to be fine. I bet Misaka-san's going to blow the examiners' minds once again. Uh, not literally, of course,' Ruiko added.

Uiharu laughed. 'You're right. Oh, we're here. Good luck to the both of us!'

/ / / / / / / / / /

Meanwhile, Mikoto, who was on her way to Tokiwadai, was about to be greeted in a similar manner.

'Onee-saamaa!' Kuroko purred as she flung her arms around Mikoto in a big hug.

'Oh, good morning, Kuroko,' Mikoto answered without so much as turning, knowing that it was Kuroko's customary form of morning greeting.

Kuroko, obviously not knowing when to stop, nuzzled her face into Mikoto's, her hand slowly reaching what had to be considered a forbidden area by any country's measure. 'If I had known that Onee-sama would be waking up so early in the morning all alone, I would have set the alarm clock even- aaarrahg!'

Trails of electricity left Mikoto's hand as she now stared at an electrified Kuroko.

Kuroko raised a trembling hand in protest. 'My love for Onee-sama will never die… even if I do.'

'Stop with the melodrama, Kuroko,' Mikoto sighed as she turned and entered a nearby park, toward a familiar looking vending machine.

Kuroko followed, and said, 'It's not melodrama when it comes to romance. My heart is crushed.'

Seeing Mikoto had no will to continue the topic, Kuroko said, 'Are you feeling confident about today's test, Onee-sama?'

'Oh, you mean the System Scan? They won't be testing me today.'

'Eh?'

'For some reason, the school has appointed me as one of the examiners this term. Hiyaa!' Mikoto shouted, delivering a roundhouse kick to the vending machine. She inspected her loot and continued, 'So I guess I'm supposed to be testing you guys.'

Kuroko cupped her hands around her face in dismay. 'Onee-sama, you do know that Judgement catches vandalism acts too?'

Mikoto opened the cap and took a sip from the coffee. 'I already told you, it's this stupid vending machine's fault. I'll treat it better if I get my money back.'

Kuroko sighed and decided not to press the issue. 'An examiner, huh? What a privilege. I guess there's no need to test you anymore after you demonstrated your strength the last time.'

'Who knows? I may be the one to be testing you, Kuroko.'

Kuroko gasped and her eyes almost radiated delight. 'Really? I'll be sure to be going 10 times as hard, no 100 times for you, Onee-sama!'

Mikoto laughed. 'Do that and you might not be rated a Level 0. But still,' she added as her voice turned serious. 'There's something bugging me.'

'What's that?'

'Letting a student be an examiner is unheard of. It hasn't even happened to the City's previous Level 5's either. Obviously, they're not going through the trouble just to have me take some ratings or stand guard. I wonder if what's in wait for me, and if there's some other agenda…'

Kuroko glanced sideways spotted the concerned look on Mikoto's face. Her voice turned soft but determined. 'You're reading way too much into this, Onee-sama. Not everything has to be evil. We all know you've been through a lot recently, but you can relax now. If there's any trouble, don't hesitate to count on us. Remember, we're always there for you.' She smiled.

Mikoto returned the smile with one of her own. 'Thanks, Kuroko.'

There was a sudden, devious glint in Kuroko's eyes, as she jumped toward Misaka. 'Since things are going so well, how about another hug-'

_Clank!_

Mikoto smacked once over Kuroko's head as the latter crouched and nursed her injuries. 'That's mean, Onee-sama…'

'You practically asked for it,' Mikoto retorted, and stopped in her tracks as she left the park. 'By the way, speaking of not everything being evil…'

'Eh? What's that, Onee-sama?'

Mikoto pointed at the far-off distance toward a desolated alleyway. Kuroko followed her gaze and understood at once. There were a handful of wretched-looking bandits surrounding a schoolgirl, their gestures suggesting ill-spirited intents.

'Onee-sama, you go on ahead,' Kuroko said immediately, pulling out her Judgment armband. 'This is Judgment's job.'

Mikoto took a look at her watch. 'You better hurry. We're almost going to be late. You have five minutes-' But Kuroko already teleported out of hearing range. '-tops.' Mikoto shook her head. 'There's really not a dull moment in this city, is there?'

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading. R&amp;R!<strong>


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